Voting “wisely”…more fun in the Philippines!

“REMEMBER TO VOTE WISELY!”

That’s the catchphrase we always hear during the elections. It’s a catchphrase with good moral intentions, but it seems the people who hear it seem to have deaf ears or Alzheimer’s. Election after election, we keep on advocating for change and yet little or nothing happens.

And then we see people complaining on the streets saying that prices are too high, they have nothing to eat, and that the people in Government are shameless idiots and should resign.

But have we forgotten that the point of democracy is that we have the right to choose the people we want in office? People always blame the Government for our problems, which is ironic when you realize when they are the ones who have put them into office.

Maybe others think Election Day is some kind of payday for them? Or a final for a popularity contest?

Over the years, even as a child, I have seen the quality of our political candidates slowly degrading. Those who have a real vision for their country have become losers in the polls while the lazy ones or those with a popular surname are the winners. And after the elections, we reap what we sow. Poor governance, and in their dictionary, public service is just a marketing slogan.

And every year someone always complains and advocates for change. And after every election, nothing happens and we come back to the same cycle all over again.

Some may be baffled on why this is happening but the simple fact of the matter is that we elect the wrong people into office. Most of the masses do not usually vote on the grounds of a candidate’s integrity, experience, and willpower, but instead vote a candidate because of these common reasons:

1. Popularity

2. Looks

3. Wealth ($$$$ makes wonders in Elections)

4. How they were entertained in an election rally

5. Famous endorsers/nice TV advertisements

6. How the candidate will “provide” cheaper food, free education and the same yata yata.

Unless these people are educated, and unless we change the standards on how we choose our candidates, then we completely have no right to complain if things go bad for us. We have the power to change and the right to elect the right people to office and yet we also choose the wrong ones. We can’t blame anyone else but ourselves if we end up in a poor situation.

And so the cycle continues. But anyway, the good old catchphrase still remains.